Spice Angel

Sandeep Pandit looks back at his MasterChef stint, and reveals plans for new adventures

BY SURUCHI SEHGAL

Rick Stein described his Lachcha Paratha as “exquisite”. “There are angels singing somewhere,” host Gary declared as he took a bite of his Masala Lobster, even as his colleague George yelled “You the man! You the man!”

Sandeep Pandit’s dishes on MasterChef Australia have been touted as some of the best Indian dishes the show has ever seen.

Looking back at his time this year on Australia’s leading reality TV show, the 37-year-old from Kashmir muses that it taught him loads about himself.

“I came out of MasterChef a more confident person – thanks to the tight deadlines, the thinking-on-feet required of contestants, and the stress of it all,” he told Indian Link. “But perhaps more importantly, I realised that I am the source of my own creativity. I have the power to create something (beautiful) that can make a difference.”

Such as when he saw his Mystery Box ingredients, for example. “Nobody in their right mind would cook Indian from there, but I saw basil and tomatoes, and I thought, this could work!” He converted it to a basil lachcha paratha served with a tomato gravy, and Rick Stein, who he holds in great awe, was floored.

“That is my favourite moment from the show,” Sandeep beamed.

Clearly he rates it higher than the perfect score of 30 for his Lemon Rice and Lemon Pepper Chicken which won him an Immunity Pin.

Surprisingly, he was never in an elimination round. Yet his last cook on the show could have been better. (Interestingly, his fateful choice, kheer, is something his compatriots typically cook as an auspicious offering, or a celebratory sweet.) Sandeep apologised profusely for letting his supporters down, but put it all down to a back injury. “I was heavily medicated at that point, and was just not focused. Mind and body were not at tandem for such a fierce competition.”

The Melbourne-based IT professional has been a fan of the show since before he arrived in Australia in 2016, but he has cooking since childhood, he revealed. As an eight-year-old in 1989, his family were forced to flee the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. He choked up as he recalled being boarded on to a truck in Srinagar, with his parents following behind on a scooter. Starting a new life from scratch in Bangalore with meagre means, required him to help his mother in the kitchen, and that’s where he found his passion.

“My grandmother tried to kick me out of the kitchen, but once she figured I wanted to stay, she began sharing little tidbits about food.”

The family kitchen is perhaps where Sandeep learned also about the divinity of food and the spirituality of cooking. His conversation is littered with references to his mum and both grandmothers as his real idols when it comes to cooking, even though he lists celebrity Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor and writer Jiggs Kalra who passed away recently, as inspirations

There’s no doubt that family is a big deal for Sandeep. It’s not surprising then that he gave his MasterChef colleagues the same accord.

Recounting the time inside the MasterChef house, Sandeep talked of looking forward to dinner time as there was always somebody trying something new. He shared a particularly close bond with Tati, who he considers a sister. On the day he exited the show, he had said, “If I get to stay in the show at the cost of Tati getting out, I’d rather be eliminated.” About other contestants, he admired how